Means for steering and controlling motor-tractors, motor-plows, and the like.



W. E. MARTIN. MEANS FOR STEERING AND CONTROLLING MOTOR TRACTORS, MOTORFLOWS, AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED MAYZB. IQIB. 1 77 740., PatentedSept. 3,1918.

w. E, MARTIN. MEANS FOR STEERING AND CONTROLLING MOTOR T'RACTORS, MOTORFLOWS, AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY28. I918- Patented Sept. 3; 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- wpEiMART-lN. MEANS FOR-STEERING AND CONTROLLING MOTOBTRACTORS, MOTOR PLOWS, AND THE LIKE.

Patented Sept. 3, 1918.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 28. I918.

3 SHEETSSHEEI 3-.

ATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM E. MARTIN, 0F STAMFORD, ENGLAND.

MEANS FOR STEERING AND CONTROLLING- MOTOR-TRACTORS, MOTOR-FLOWS, AND

THE LIKE.

emme.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 3, 1918.

Application filed May as, 1918. Serial no. 237,086.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, WILLIAM EDWARD MARTIN, a subject of the King ofGreat Britain, residing at Stamford, in the county of Lincoln, England,have invented certam new-and useful Improvements in Means for Steeringand Controlling Motor-Tractors, Motor-PloWs, and the like, of which thefollowing is a specification The invention relates to that type oftractor or motor plow or other like cultivating implement in which adriving pinion at each side of the machine may be separately clutched orunclutched for rapidly steering the machine.

In such machines a frame carrying a caster-wheel, plow or cultivatingtool, 1s generally pivoted to the mam frame, and the two frames arecaused to move on the pivotal point with respect to each other forordinary steering purposes, as described in the specification of myUnited States Patent No.-

1,204,808, granted 14th November, 1 9l6.

The object of the present inventlon 1s to provide a single lever foroperating the two dog clutches for driving the p1n1ons, which lever mayalso control another piece of mechanism such as the main motor clutch orthe reversing lever. The controlling lever is mounted adjacent to thesteering wheel and this latter operates in a novel manner to control theordinary steering of the machine.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure 1 is a side elevation of part of a motor plow and Fig. 2 is aplan thereof.

Fig. 3 is a cross section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 seen in thedirection of the arrow. a is the main frame of the machine and Z9 is thesmaller frame pivoted at its front end to the main frame. As shown inthe drawings the smaller frame I) is supported by a plow breast b, butthis latter may be replaced by another supporting device such as anotherform of cultivating tool or by a caster wheel, which latter are notshown as they form no part of the invention.

00 are the creeper chains shown diagrammatically, which are driven bythe pinions c c and pass around the supporting and guiding wheels 0 c oneach side of the ma chine.

According to the present invention a sliding rod d passes through afixed sleeve 6,

and the front end of the rodd may be provided with a universal joint d,which, by means of the rod cl, is connected to some piece of mechanismat 03 such as the main clutch lever or the reversing lever, representedby the broken lines 03 in Fig. 1. This sliding rod d, atits rear-end, ispivoted to a lever 7, the fulcrum f of which is preferably below thesliding rod d as shown. The sliding rod d and the said fulcrum f aremounted to rotate together, the former within the fixed sleeve 6. Thesteering wheel 9 carrying the fulcrum rotates independently of thesliding rod d. This latter can thus be pulled backward by means of thelever f for operating another piece of mechanism such as the main motorclutch or the reversing gearing, or it may be rocked to the right or tothe left at will. When rocked to elther side it releases the dog clutchh on that side and throws the driv-' mg mechanism on that side out ofgear. The sliding rod d is connected by a universal joint al to asquared part (P, which latter passes through a cam 2'. The squared part(Z of the sliding rod '03 is supported in a sleeve cl which has a squareaperture passing through its center and which is cylindrical on itsexterior. This sleeve d, which carries the said cam z,- is mounted in abearing (i in a fixed part of the main frame. The cam 2' has asemi-circular part 6, concentric with the axis of the sliding part 03 ofthe rod d, and two small cam surfaces 2' at the ends of thesemi-circular part 21. The cam i has also two pins or projections 2'standing out from one of its faces, which pms or projectlons are locatednear to the two said small cam surfaces The dog clutches h are eachmoved toward and away from the center line of the machine by bell-cranklevers, each of which has a horizontal portion j and a vertical portionj, this latter operating the dog clutch it. The two horizontal portionsj j of these large bell-crank levers overlap each other at the center ofthe machine, where the adjacent ends are located side by side in twoparallel planes. These adjacent ends are, normally located beneath andpressed up against the pins or projections 71 on the cam face and inthat position the two dog clutches h are in gear. The horizontalportions 7' j of the large bell-crank levers are pressed upward by twosmaller curved or which springs are in tension and act to press thelaterally projecting portions 10 upward against the under surfaces ofthe parts j of the large bell-crank levers.

Such machines are subject to much vibration and the semi-circular part2' of the cam 15 prevents the upper ends is of the small bell-cranklevers approaching each other and thus releasing the large bell-cranklevers. It will be understood that if the upper ends is of thesesmallbell-crank levers were not thus positively held apart, the vibration ofv the machine might overcome the springs k? which apply upward pressureto the'horiz ontal portions 3' of the large bell-crank levers. I

Each of the ends of the horizontal portions j of the large bell-cranklevers is curved or formed with a cam surface at i for the purposehereinafter explained.

The action of the apparatus is as follows If it be desired to turn themachine in a sharp curve to the right, it is necessary to release theright hand dog clutch h, and for this purpose the operating lever f ismoved to the right, thus rocking the camover toward the right. Thesemi-circular part 2" of the cam 6 immediately leaves the upper end ofthe small bell-crank lever onits left; consequently, this upper end isis capable of moving toward the right, which action would release theright hand large bell-crank lever. The pin or projection i on the righthand part of the cam i depresses the end of the right hand largebell-crank lever and withdraws the right hand dog clutch h. This samepin or projection 2' then passes under the curved or cam like end 7' ofthe left large bell-crank lever and positively locks this lever in itsupper position. The downward movement of the horizontal part 7' of theright hand large bell-crank lever has depressed the end k of its smallbell-crank lever, the upper end is of which has moved to the right. Whenthe control ling lever f is moved back into its central verticalposition, the cam 2', in rotating, acts by the small cam surface 2' onits left, to move the upper end is of the small bellcrank lever withwhich it comes into contact, toward the left so that the semi-circularpart 2" of the cam 71 may once more retain the upper ends of the twosmall bel1-crank levers at the required distance apart to lock both thehorizontal parts y' j of the large bell-crank levers in the upperpositions and consequently lock the two dog clutches Izin drivingposition. When the controlling lever f is moved to the left, theapparatus acts in a similar manner to that above described, the left pinor projection 11 on the cam 71 depressing the left large bell-cranklever and locking the right large bell-crank lever.

The sleeve g, to which the steering wheel 9 is fixed, has a worm gthereon which meshes with part of a worm wheel 9 fixed on the upper endof a vertical shaft Z mounted in suitable bearings carried by the mainframe a. At its lower end this vertical shaft Z has a crank or lever Z,the outer end of which is connected by a link Z to the rear part of thesmallervframe b carrying the supporting device such as a caster wheel,plow breasts or other cultivating tools. When the vertical shaft Z isrocked by rotating the steering handle the main frame a. is movedlaterally at its rear with respect to the smaller frame I), which isconnected to the ground by the supporting device, and the machine isthus steered in manner well known but not so rapidly as when a clutch his liberated.

The lower or-smaller frame I) is supported by the main frame a, and thetwo frames slide laterally with respect to each other in known manner,as described in my prior specification No. 1,204,808.

What I claim as my invention is 1. In means for steering and controllingmotor tractors, motor plows and the like, the combination of a clutch oneach side of the machine, a sliding and rotatable rod, means for movingsaid rod, a cam through which the rod slides and by which it is rotated,and means operated by said cam to lock the clutches each in itsoperative position when the cam is in its central position and torelease either clutch according to which direction the cam is rotated,substantially as set forth. 2. In means for steering and controllingmotor tractors, motor plows and the like, the combination of a clutch oneach side of the machine, a large bell-crank lever controlling eachclutch, a sliding and rotatable rod, means for moving said rod, a camthrough which the rod slides and by which the cam is rotated, and twoprojections on said cam each of which, when the cam is rotated, firstdepresses one end of one large bell-crank lever to release the clutchand then passes under part of the other bellcrank lever to lock thesame, substantially as set forth.

3. In means for steering and controlling motor tractors, motor plows andthe like,

-motor tractors, motor plows and the like,

' the combination of a clutch on each side of the machine, a largebell-crank lever controlling each clutch, a sliding and rotatable rod,means for moving said rod, a cam through which the rod slides and bywhich the cam is rotated, two projections on said cam each of which,when the cam is rotated, first depresses one end ofone large bellcranklever to release the clutch and then passes under part of the otherbell-crank lever to lockthe same, and two spring-controlled smallbell-crank levers each having a part which is held in contact with alarge bell-crank lever and each having a part which is in contact withthe surface of the cam, substantially as set forth. a

4. In means for steering and controlling motor tractors, motor plows andthe like, the combination of a clutch on each side of the machine, twolarge bell-crank levers each controlling a clutch and overlap ing eachother in parallel planes, a cam ormed on the extreme end of each largebell-crank lever, a sliding and rotatable rod, means for moving saidrod, a main cam through which the rod slides and by which the camoisrotated, two projections on said cam each of which, when the cam isrotated, first depresses one end of one large bell-crank lever torelease the clutch and then passes under the cam on the extreme end ofthe otherbell-crank lever to lock the-same, and two smallspring-controlled bell-crank levers pivoted directly below the slidingand rotatable rod, each small bell-crank lever having a part which is incontact with a large bellcrank lever and each having a part which is incontact'with the surface of the main cam, substantially as set forth.

5. In means forsteering and controlling motor tractors, motor plows andthe like,

- the combination ofa dog clutch on each side of the machine, asteering. wheel, a sliding and rotatable rod passmg through saidsteering wheel, is controlled, said lever, its fulcrum and rod rotatingtogether, a cam through which the rod slides and by which it is rotated,and means operated by said cam to lock the dog clutches each in itsoperative position when the cam is in its central position and torelease either clutch according to which direction the cam is rotated,substantially as set forth.

6. In means for steering and controlling the combination of a clutch oneach side-of and by which it is rotated,

the combination a lever by which the rod.

the machine, a large bell-crank lever controlling each clutch, a slidingand rotatable rod,'means for moving said rod, a cam through which therod slides and by which vthe cam is rotated, said cam having asemicircular part and two small cam surfaces at the end of thesemi-circular part, two projections, on said cam each of which, when thecam is rotated, first depresses one end of one large bell-crank lever torelease the clutch and then other bell-crank lever to lock the same, and

two spring-controlled small bell-crank lepasses under part of the of amain frame, a clutch tical shaft, a worm wheel on said vertical shaft ingear with said worm, a smaller frame pivoted at its front end to themain frame, for moving the smaller frame with relation to" the mainframe, a sliding and rotatable rod passing through said steering wheel,a levervby which the rod is controlled, said lever, its fulcrum and saidrod rotating together, a cam through which the rod slides andvmeansoperated by said cam to lock the clutches each in its operative positionwhen the cam is in its central position and to release either whichdirection the cam clutch according to is rotated, substantially as setforth.

means operated by the vertical shaft 8. In means for steering andcontrolling" motor tractors, motor plows and the like, of a clutch oneach side of the machine, a sliding and rotatable rod,

means for moving said rod, a cam through which the rod' slides tated,means operated by said cam to lock the clutches each in its operativeposition when the cam is in its central position and to release eitherclutch according to which direction the cam is rotated, and a universaljoint at the front end of the sliding and roand by which it is ro-,

tatable rod connected to mechanism for controlling part of the motor,substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto setmy hand.

WILLIAM E. MARTIN.

